‘Something was wrong with this cougar’: Animal that killed biker, injured another was emaciated

Democracy Dies in Darkness Sections Home Try 1 month for $1 Username Sign In Account Profile Newsletters & Alerts Gift Subscriptions Contact Us Help Desk Subscribe Account Profile Newsletters & Alerts Gift Subscriptions Contact Us Help Desk Accessibility for screenreader Share on Google Plus Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google Plus Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Tumblr Resize Text Print Article Comments Animalia by Kristine Phillips May 21 at 1:02 PM Email the author S.J. Brooks and Isaac Sederbaum did what they were supposed to do, authorities say. They made loud noises to scare the cougar away. One of them even struck the animal with a bicycle. But none of it worked. The big cat that had been following the two friends as they were mountain biking in rural Washington state pounced, lunging at Sederbaum’s head and killing Brooks, whom the animal mauled in its den. The attacks Saturday morning – the first fatal one in the state in nearly a century – was uncharacteristic of cougars, which are normally solitary animals that run off when confronted by humans, said Capt. Alan Myers of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The adult male cougar stalked the cyclists, and instead of running away after the victims tried to scare it off, the animal returned and attacked them. “Humans are not on the menu for cougars normally,” Myers told The Washington Post. “For it to attack two human beings in the manner that it did… [Read full story]